« Mothers of Shame »

Barely 18 years old, Ouafea would love to be able to go out and enjoy life. She had had some sexual encounters in Assilah, her home city in northern Morocco, and fell pregnant. Upon hearing the news, her family cast her out of their home. Today Ouafea is a single mother, an unthinkable situation, synonymous with shame in that part of the world. Alone and destitute, the young woman has found shelter and support through 100% Mothers, an association based in Tangiers.

The association was created through a collaboration of humanitarians. Claire Trichot, current president of 100% Mothers, was initially a legal aid provider in a refugee centre in Ceuta and then was a lawyer for an association supporting children in Tangiers. The young French civil-rights lawyer remembers: «Our centre welcomed women who came to abandon their children to us. One of the most heart-wrenching moments for me was the day a 16-year-old mother came with her baby. We tried to find shelter for her but the Moroccan authorities with whom we worked refused to support us. For them, we were condoning prostitution.»

It was then that Claire Trichot understood that to reduce child abandonment it was necessary above all to focus on mothers. That’s an enormous challenge in a place where, legally, these mothers are considered to be prostitutes. Despite 2004 revisions to the Moudawana (the legal text regulating this issue) supported by King Mohammed VI, mothers giving birth out of wedlock are still at risk for prison sentences of between two and six months.

Learning to be a mother

Establishing 100% Mothers in a poor section of Tangiers has been an uphill battle. The association carries out its efforts in near secrecy. There is no sign on the building in which the shelter is located. But there, in a 100-square-meter apartment, around ten women live together in a small community. Pregnant or already with new-borns, they learn the role of being a mother. Each woman must respect the rules and actively participate in the community: shopping, household chores and other tasks are carried out under the watchful eye of the association’s three employees. The shelter is very well organized, with a play space for children, bedrooms, a kitchen and cribs.

This is the only women’s shelter in northern Morocco. Single mothers hear of it through word of mouth, and come for counselling provided by associations and hospitals. They come from all over Morocco, from cities and rural areas. Their average age is 25, and 80% of them are illiterate. Most come to 100% Mothers in their 7th or 8th month of pregnancy. Having received no sex education, some have not even realized that they were pregnant. The association provides shelter and basic medical aid, such as ultrasound. 

100% Mothers also provides psychological support. The shelter’s director, Loubna Lahsaini has established house rules and also provides a listening ear to each mother individually. Each meets with her privately once a week: « I listen without taking notes to avoid creating distance. But I have to be clear: I’m neither their sister nor their mother, but a woman who works here. Our objective is to enable these young mothers to take responsibility for their lives.»

100% Mother’s work truly begins when the child is born. It’s a real battle to official register births. «There are so many documents to obtain, an enormous burden for single mothers. It is expensive: a birth certificate costs 350 dirhams (around 30 euros); the average yearly salary in Morocco is around 200 euros. That’s a lot of money », says Claire Trichot, president of the association. The association receives pro bono services from a volunteer attorney to assist with the legal and regulatory processes. These can be even more complex, especially in cases of rape and in cases where mothers wish that the father be legally recognized as a parent.

Successful social integration

Because it can house only up to ten women and there is a waiting list, after four months, women must leave the shelter. 100% Mothers focuses on providing them the tools for professional life once on the outside. The association has not yet established formal partnerships with businesses, but has developed an employment network with factories and is often able to get work for mothers as cleaning women. Once they are on their own, these young mothers continue to benefit from the shelter, where they can leave their children in day care while at work.

This structure would never have seen the light of day without the generous aid from several donors. 100% Mothers has entered into an agreement with the Catalan-based association Casal dels Infants del Raval. Rent is being paid for one year by the Tangiers Rotary Club. Private gifts enable the association to exist, but are insufficient to cover operating costs. To make up the difference, 100% Mothers organizes fund-raising events, such as auctions and donor dinners, or through theatrical events from which 100% receives any profits.

Over the past two-and-a-half years, 70 single mothers have turned to 100% Mothers, and only two have abandoned their babies. It’s a team success, an example that can help change local mentalities. « At first, they didn’t want to keep their children, who, instead of being born in happiness were considered the result of sinful activity. We try to strengthen the relationship between mother and child. When I see a single mother walking in the street with her baby without trying to hide, that’s a sign of success, because it is a real challenge for her », observes Loubna Lahsaini, shelter director, with pride.